Do It Yourself Toy Bin

Do you find yourself constantly picking up your childs Army men, legos, or action figures? Does your daughters barbie accessories seem to find themselves in the washer or wedged under the bed? Well this simple do it yourself homemade toy box is sure to fix that problem.

Items needed: One Purina Tidy Cats 20 lb litter tub.

That's it!! That is all you need. Just pull off the labels, obviously wash it out and wha la! You have a perfect bin for storing those pesky legos that your vacuum always chokes on. Simply sharpie the title of whatever you happen to be storing somewhere on the outside. This is a great way to keep small toys out of your puppies mouth. Also, it can be a great way to safegaurd against a curious toddler that wants to gum everything.

A friend of mine told me about this awesome trick and needless to say we are saving the next few cat litter tubs.

Santa Claus

An important subject that you may have never thought of yet. Will you choose to tell your child that there is a Santa Claus or not. This is a topic that has a good argument for both sides. And I am the perfect person to cover it. I was brought up believeing in Santa untill I was about 5 or 6, my wife was never really told if there is a Santa or isn't and was free to decide on their own ( wich pretty much answers the question for them).

Growing up with Santa in my heart was one of the coolest things I could of believed when I was a little guy. All of the "Christmas spirit" in the air in December and the joy I would get just thinking a jolly fat man was going to be in my house dropping off presents and drinking the milk I left for him. I remember calling the hotline to find out where Santa's sleigh was last spotted, and getting so excited. I must say that I always sort of knew that the "mall Santa" was a phony he just seemed like a stand in for the real guy. When I found out the truth I never really thought of it as my parents lying to me. I think I  saw it coming when my friend broke the news to me one day.

My wife was free to make her own descisions and she had basically told me that she would have liked to believe in Santa but when ever they asked there was not really any definitive answer either way. I understand that they didn't want their kids to think that they have been lied to, wich is an awesome thought for a parent to have. I don't think of it as lying but more of introducing an idea. An Idea that may be true or may not be true but introducing it anyways. It's not like i'm going to send my 16 year old to school still thinking there is a Santa Claus.

If nothing else Santa Claus gives your little one a reason to be reminded to behave and get on his nice list. My wife and I will bring our kids up with the idea of Santa Claus. When the day comes that they get smart to the idea I won't lie to them and the idea of Santa will be no more. If you decide to tell your child that there is no Santa then he will probably end up being the one to ruin it for all the kids in his school who want to believe :). No pressure just stating some facts here!

What do you think?